Michael Ballack put Chelsea into the FA Cup final by scoring in extra time Sunday to give his team a 2-1 win over Blackburn. Ballack scored from the left side after Salomon Kalou's shot was blocked in the 109th minute.

Peter Crouch's hat trick powered Liverpool to a 4-1 victory over Arsenal on Saturday that lifted the club into third place in the Premier League and ended a four-game losing streak against the Gunners.

European roundup: Wayne Rooney scored a hat trick Saturday and ended a 10-game scoring drought to lead Manchester United to a 4-0 victory over Bolton in the English Premier League. Rooney's goals were his first for club or country since he scored twice in United's season-opening 5-1 win over Fulham on Aug. 20.

The German Bundesliga season began less than five weeks after the World Cup final, with defending champion Bayern Munich defeating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Friday on goals by Roy Makaay and Bastian Schweinsteiger. On Saturday, new captain Kasey Keller leads Borussia Moenchengladbach against Energie Cottbus.

Chelsea learned what other English Premier League teams already know: Fulham is tough to beat at home. Despite struggling with relegation, Fulham stunned its west London rival 1-0 Sunday. It was only Chelsea's third league loss in 30 games this season.